Two Prince George residents are joining the management team of the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
Prince George Free Press publisher Phil Beaulieu, the former general manager of CN Centre and assistant general manager of Keystone Centre in Winnipeg, was named director of sport and venues for the games. Beaulieu will be leaving his position with the newspaper in January to take on the key position in the games management team.
"I anticipate a lot of hard work. It's exciting. I think it's a great event for the city," Beaulieu said.
Beaulieu has been involved in organizing projects like the Scott Tournament of Hearts, Labatt Brier, 1999 Pan Am Games and RBC Royal Bank Cup.
In addition, he has worked with teams like the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose, as well as traveling acts including U2, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Paul McCartney.
"Sports and venues is where all the contact takes place with the athletes and coaches," Beaulieu said. "There is a lot of knowledge in the community on what has worked in the past. Taking advantage of all that knowledge will be critical. It's about hoping for the best case scenario and planning for the not-best case scenario."
In addition, Lisa Shaw-McLaren will join the Canada Winter Games team as manager of sport and venue preparation. Shaw-McLaren has spent 23 years working with the City of Prince George in event logistics and recreation program planning.
Shaw-McLaren was an instrumental part of the 2015 Canada Winter Games Secretariat and was part of the transition team following the successful bid.
"We are pleased to add two more talented local individuals to our management team," games CEO Stuart Ballantyne said."The sport and venues component is extremely critical to the success of any Canada Games. As a result of these recent staffing additions, we are confident that we can reach the high standards of excellence that are beginning to be put in place."
